RIVERSIDE — The Nouveau Cinema Group Inc. was formed in June to restore and manage old neighborhood theaters while presenting quality classic and contemporary cinema.

“With the advent of the large chains, a lot of theaters have been torn down or fallen into neglect. Our goal is to resurrect those,” said Rick Martin, executive director of the nonprofit corporation.

Nouveau is focusing its attention on the former Page Manor Twin Cinemas, 5584 Airway Road, that Martin said Nouveau will lease through 2019.

A fundraiser that’s open to the public will be held 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at Cafe Monet in the Dayton Art Institute. For more information, call Martin at (937) 613-4432.

Reupholstered seats and state-of-the-art projection and sound equipment are planned for the theater. The concession area will feature whole-organic snacks, penny candy for kids, beer and wine as well as traditional popcorn and theater snacks.

The group also envisions an educational outreach that will include offering scholarships for film students and other artistic endeavors.

The original theater opened in 1967 as a 919-seat single-screen theater. Chakeres Theaters in Springfield acquired it in 1975 and divided the house into two smaller theaters with a total seating of 800. National Amusements bought the theater in 1988 and closed it in 1993. It briefly re-opened from 1997 to 1998 as a repertory theater.

Page Manor Twin Cinemas later re-opened in January 2004 as a second-run family theater but closed in November. The theater’s operator said employee theft was to blame.

Martin, 43, a lifelong Daytonian, remembered going there as a kid to see movies like the “Horror of Dracula” with actor Peter Cushing.

“One of its two screening rooms features a stage, which Martin believes would be great for live performances by local bands, plays, comedy and poetry readings.

Martin — who owns a small production company, the RMM Agency, which primarily produces DVDs and merchandise related to the old Dr. Creep’s Shock Theater shows in Dayton — sees this new arts theater opportunity as a silver lining to his 2008 layoff.

“This is giving me a chance to do one of the things I’ve always wanted to do,” he said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2094 or mkissell@DaytonDailyNews.com.